Gujaratis survived Idi Amin, fuelled East Africa’s economy

It was 36 years ago that dictator Idi Amin threw out 55,000 Indians, majority Gujaratis, lock, stock and barrel from Uganda.

| TNN | Oct 22, 2008, 00:35 IST

AHMEDABAD: It was 36 years ago that dictator Idi Amin threw out 55,000 Indians, majority Gujaratis, lock, stock and barrel from Uganda. Gujaratis, from this East African country, migrated to UK, Canada and other European countries and scaled heights with their entrepreneurial zeal there. But thousands of Gujaratis returned when next Ugandan president Yoweri Kaguta Museveni invited Gujaratis to return to his country, criticising the myopic policies of Idi Amin.

���Gujaratis returned to the country with extreme caution as they had seen bad days earlier. But then they helped rebuild the economy of East Africa,��� narrates business historian Makrand Mehta.

���Gujaratis have played a lead role in Uganda���s social and industrial development. When I personally went to London to invite them back after they moved out of Uganda in 1960, I knew that this community can do wonders for my country and they have been doing it for last many decades,��� Uganda President Yoweri Museveni told TOI.

Gujarat���s son-of-the-soil MM Jeevanji, is famous as grand old man of Kenya and known for development in Nairobi. He bagged the title after he helped buildmany roads, hospitals, schools and railway lines in Kenya.

Also during World War I, it was Gujarat���s Gordhandas Patel, who started the first theatre in East Africa and screened Gujarati films. Another Gujarati trader, Dahyabhai Patel had also made a film named ���Africa man Hindi��� (Indian in Africa).

While the highest migration of Gujaratis was seen in 1901, when 20,000 Gujaratis migrated to Africa for jobs in post office, railways and insurance after Uganda-Kenya railway line work started, historians say alliance of Gujarat and African countries is age-old.

Many travellers noted that Gujaratis lived in these countries since 1500 AD. Such description was mentioned in travelogues of Vasco Da Gama, Barbossa and Verthamas. The travelogues say that initially Gujaratis started small shops of sweets and grocery and later ventured in plywood, sugar, tea and coffee business. Today, many Gujaratis are real estate bigwigs in East and South Africa.

���For Gujaratis while Gujarat is their motherland, they consider African countries as their workplace and have earned the title of being the most respected community in the region. They not only unearthed gold mines for themselves but have helped the region grow,��� says Uganda���s ambassador to India, Nimisha Madhvani.

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